Open Letter to the Biden Campaign on “Unprepared”

":Our demands: The country’s greatest priority at this moment is to beat the COVID-19 crisis, and this requires embracing principles of antiracist solidarity and international cooperation. The Biden campaign can and should beat Trump and the GOP with a message centered on our real public health needs and the progressive values that are required to meet those needs. The “Unprepared” ad must be taken down, and all campaign messaging that fuels anti-Asian racism and China-bashing must end. We refuse to allow the Biden campaign to sacrifice our dignity in the name of political expediency."

Ad-Hoc Left Committee

Featuring Gary Younge, Author of "No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the Deep South"

THURSDAY, APRIL 30 2009 St. John's Church, San Francisco

Like previous events sponsored by this Ad Hoc Committee, this program is aimed at fostering dialogue and debate among leftists who see themselves operating within the left-wing-of-the-Obama-motion political space. If there are people sharing this broad viewpoint who you believe would be interested in participating in this conversation, we encourage you to extend this invitation to them.

Dump Trump

A lot of us see something really clearly, but few of us—radical and revolutionary organizers—are willing to say it out loud.

So we’re going to say it. Defeating Trump in the presidential election is a top priority for the left. And at a minimum, that means mobilizing voters for Hillary Clinton in swing states even if you vote for another candidate in a safe state. We’ve got to beat Trump and Trumpism while building movements that will fight, resist and disrupt a Clinton administration that will be militaristic and pro-corporate...

As we mentioned at the beginning, defeating Trump is not enough. We need movements strong enough to fight a Clinton administration on several fronts—whether Israel/Palestine, free trade agreements, climate change, a $15 minimum wage, or the prison-industrial complex. And neutralizing the appeal of the far right means we need to both strengthen our movements for racial justice and win over white workers to a progressive class politics as an alternative to Trump’s racist economic nationalism. Finally, we need to build a left that can help anchor a visionary alternative to corporate Democrats. It won’t be easy, but we’ve come this far. Let’s defend what we’ve got in this election, and keep our eye on collective liberation.

"Trump’s Victory Is a Wake-Up Call to the Left"

"Trump’s Victory Is a Wake-Up Call to the Left: Did we do enough in 2016? And how can we build a broader electoral movement?" was written by Calvin Miaw (Lynn Koh) for In These Times, Nov 18, 18, 2016;

Today we have a number of inspiring movements (and encampments!) that will continue under the Trump administration. We have incredible multiracial alliances—from the National Domestic Workers Alliance to Grassroots Global Justice—all across the United States. We have cutting-edge work in electoral politics through our mass organizations at the local level (like San Francisco Rising or the South Bay Labor Council) reaching into the state level (with New Virginia Majority and New Florida Majority). There's a lot going for us, but whether we are able to build a worthy successor to the Rainbow, which replicates its achievements while avoiding its quite obvious failures, depends on us moving beyond what we've been doing.

The Left We Want to Build: Breaking Out of the Margins

Discussion of left political strategy

The Left Inside/Outside Project invites you to a cross-organizational discussion of left political strategy. This video conference will feature speakers from different organizations in the Left Inside/Outside Project providing their perspective on the key questions facing leftists that are trying to build electoral power alongside social movements, all while navigating the complicated terrain of Democratic Party politics. We will also have small group discussions and describe opportunities for collaboration across organizational lines.

Inside/Outside Project

Fighting Trump and Building the Left, from the Left Inside/Outside Project

But it’s also an exciting time to be part of the U.S. left. We have momentum on all the levels we have to work on, and more energy for these efforts than we have seen in decades. We take the inspiration from the examples listed above, and recognize that our main challenge is bringing our work to scales that will be able to shift the balance of forces in the U.S. The Left Inside/Outside Project formed out of a common feeling that U.S. politics after Trump required both serious engagement with electoral politics and a left that could work collaboratively to build on our existing strengths. Twenty months later, we still believe this: our commitment is to work ever more closely together with this vision, to learn from one another, build on our most advanced experiences, and build a more unified and effective socialist movement that is in this fight for the long haul.

OU Editoral Collective

Memphis Solidarity Brigade

The Memphis district of Freedom Road brought together cadre from around the nation to support a local organizing effort, Memphis For All, to apply our line and strategy to local elections. The Path to Power Memphis for all Solidarity Brigade took place in mid-July 2018 to culminate with an early voting canvassing effort.

yo!!! i'm excited to invite y'all to sign up for a program focused on learning, on-the-ground, about building political power as leftists, revolutionaries and radicals in working class communities of color that are left out & shut out of politics. the path to power memphis solidarity brigade will combine training & actual field work in support of justice organizations engaging in electoral work to build power, like memphis for all, labor unions, and more. you can sign up at this link https://goo.gl/forms/wemUNfG4SxbusyHo1

it's listed as wednesday 7/18-sunday 7/22, but the real programming is focused on thursday 7/19-saturday 7/21. housing and food are supported, and other support is available. i'm hoping especially to get folks from tennessee to do it, so we can start really thinking about building a #tennesseeforall. hit me up if you're interested, apply now to get in on this.

China re-alignment

In early 2019, Organizing Upgrade editors Calvin Cheung-Miaw and Max Elbaum published an article at In These Times on U.S.-China relations. In it, Cheung-Miaw and Elbaum outlined their case for the left to prioritize the fight for a 180-degree turnaround in the U.S. stance toward China, demanding that diplomacy and negotiation replace trade wars and military encirclement.

The conference will be streamed from Chicago to regional meetings in New Haven, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Whether you’re on the East Coast, West Coast, in the MIdwest or the South, you’ll be able to participate.[8]

Those invited on Facebook included Calvin Miaw.

Attacking Biden

We urge all left-progressive forces to take seriously what will be required to create a united progressive front capable of defeating Biden and going on to expand its influence even as we unite in an even broader coalition to defeat Trump. And to remember that we not only need cooperation on the electoral battlefront, but cooperation at scale in building mass direct action, revitalizing the trade union movement, and organizing large numbers on a host of urgent issues. After all, even if Sanders or Warren wins the presidency and the GOP loses control of both houses of Congress, it will take massive pressure from below to win a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, end mass incarceration, close the border concentration camps, change US foreign policy and begin the new cycle of progressive advance that is an existential imperative for the world’s most vulnerable and the entire human race.

We have to quickly establish sufficient political unity to uphold a progressive front, so that we may develop the technical capacities and infrastructure to allow this progressive front to work together (regardless of whether they have endorsed Sanders or Warren). Though preserving space for constructive debate over left electoral strategy and tactics will be critical, we urge doing so in a way that does not detract from the important task of reaching outward, engaging the unconvinced and unorganized social forces we will need to win.

To that end, Organizing Upgrade will be publishing a number of pieces in the coming week from left organizers of varied perspectives that discuss the WFP endorsement, the DSA’s “Bernie or Bust” resolution, and other developments related to the 2020 elections. Our goal is to continue engaging left organizers in strategic dialogue during a pivotal moment in history and we welcome you to join the conversation. The stakes could not be higher.